DEADLY TRANSPLANT: Michigan Man Contracts Rabies from Infected Organ

A Michigan man died of rabies after a kidney transplant, in an extremely unusual case of transmission, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has reported. The patient had received a kidney transplant at the University of Toledo Medical Center (UTMC) in Ohio in December 2024 and died on January 2025. This represents the first confirmed rabies-related fatality in Michigan since 2009.

Health officials, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), determined that the organ donor had been exposed to rabies from a wild animal in Idaho five weeks before their death.

Yet, the donor had not shown the classical symptoms of rabies and neither had they consulted a physician nor reported to public health authorities about the bite. Thus, their organs were transplanted unsuspectingly.

Rabies is a deadly virus that infects the central nervous system of mammals, including humans. The illness is almost always fatal after symptoms appear, which may take weeks to months after exposure, depending on how close the infected wound is to the brain. Symptoms initially mimic the flu but increasingly become more severe to involve confusion, hallucinations, paralysis, and hydrophobia. The CDC notes that fewer than 20 people have survived rabies after developing symptoms.

Following the kidney transplant, the recipient developed symptoms and succumbed to the disease within weeks. While transmission of rabies through organ transplantation is rare, previous incidents have been documented.

In 2005, a New England Journal of Medicine study reported four deaths among recipients of transplants who had received organs unknowingly from a rabies-infected donor. Likewise, in 2020, a Transplantation journal study reported two deaths due to rabies associated with a kidney transplant, that of an infant being one of them.

In addition to the kidney transplant, corneal tissue from the same donor was used in three different patients across multiple states. Upon recognizing the rabies risk, health officials worked swiftly to intercept a fourth corneal graft intended for a Missouri patient before it could be transplanted. The recipients of the donor’s corneal tissue have since undergone post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and remain in good health, according to the CDC.

The MDHHS has reassured the public that there is no ongoing threat. All healthcare workers and others who had potential exposure to the infected transplant patient were assessed for risk and provided PEP if necessary.

Dr. Daniel Kaul, a University of Michigan infectious disease specialist, stressed that the case is sad but should not discourage people from pursuing organ transplants. He clarified that the risk of contracting rabies via transplant is still extremely low against the danger of forgoing a transplant for organ failure patients.

Despite the intense process of screening organ donors, rabies testing is problematic. It takes several days to detect the virus, but organs can only be used for transplantation for a few hours. Routine practice excludes donors who have reported exposure to rabies or are showing symptoms, but none were such in this instance.

References:

1. Live Science. 2025. "In Extremely Rare Case, Michigan Resident Dies from Rabies After Receiving Transplanted Kidney Carrying the Virus." Live Science, March 2025. https://www.livescience.com/health/surgery/in-extremely-rare-case-michigan-resident-dies-from-rabies-after-receiving-transplanted-kidney-carrying-the-virus.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Sai Sindhuja K/MSM)